Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Nearly a dozen Napa Valley wineries and grape growers are suing a luxury winery, its owner and a contractor over the 2025 Pickett Fire wildfire that allegedly destroyed their grape harvests and caused around $90 million losses.
San Diego-based fire litigation firm, Singleton Schreiber, filed the lawsuit last week in Napa County Superior Court. The suit names Hundred Acre Winery, owner Jayson Woodbridge and independent contractor Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil as defendants, as the fire started at the property.
The nearly dozen plaintiffs that are seeking damages and a jury trial include Robert Foley Vineyards, Jackson Family Wines and Neal Family Vineyards, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The lawsuit follows criminal charges filed against Marfil in August. He faces one felony count of recklessly causing a fire to a structure and forest. Marfil "admitted to Cal Fire Law Enforcement" that he disposed of "hot ashes into a burn pile, which caused the Pickett Fire,” according to charging documents cited by the outlet. He has pleaded not guilty, according to Napa Valley Features.
Marfil pleaded not guilty at his September arraignment. Neither Woodbridge nor Hundred Acre has faced criminal charges.
